Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy
by Raz1el
Summary: Following the events of Defiance, the elder Kain must once again have faith in the machinations of fate, and entrust his younger self to the preservation of Nosgoth's precious future. But can Kain really set right all that has been set wrong? Based on what could have been the events in the cancelled game of the same name.
1. Prologue

All was silent in the night air of Avernus, a false pretense of peace to the chaos about to erupt. Azimuth had already begun her ritual, summoning demon after abomination into the world. Kain knew this tale well, having lived through such immeasurably cataclysmic times. But he had not come to reminisce; he had a mission.

A guard, one of a nameless rabble of soon to be dead defenders, spotted a flash of movement. Before he could raise an alarm, the remarkable shape of a flamerge emerged from his chest. The guard gasped once, then breathed no more as the Soul Reaver, humming with anticipation, consumed his soul.

Kain took a moment to revel in the Reaver's unparalelled power and form, knowing full well the end result of his errand. Killing the guard, whil unnecessary, served to remind him what fate had so cruelly removed from his possession. But Kain could not fight destiny, and he knew that time was short, and he was approaching yet another fatal paradox. Quickly casting beguile, Kain entered Avernus' famed cathedral. His goal was a room located at the far end of the building, as of yet empty and devoid of noteworthy items. The room where he had, over a millenium ago, took up the Soul Reaver as his weapon of choice. This was where he needed to discover it; without the Reaver, history itself would be unwritten and Nosgoth might never again recover what was lost.

Quickly infiltrating the Cathedrals interior halls, he bypassed as many of Hash'Ak'Gik's followers as was possible for and immortal of such ill temper. He knew it was required, but was still loathe to part with his beloved Reaver. As such, he vented his frustration on the cultists. There were many, all with experience killing Vampires, but Kain is as an army, unwavering in combat, unyielding in ferocity, untamed in savagery.

The first priest would realize too late the error of challenging Kain. His underlings quickly surrounded Kain, as he proclaimed,"By the order of the great and Almighty Hash'Ak'Gik, we cleanse all unworthy in baptism by the blade!"

Kain simply rushed forward and decapitated him for his trouble. "If he proclaims MY death, then he must vastly overestimate the strength his followers."

At this show of heresy, the lesser priests charged at Kain, who simply curled his lip in a blood thirsty smile, anticipating the slaughter to come.

The first priest swung a short sword at his neck, but was shocked to find that he hit nothing. More shocking, however, was the pain in his chest. He looked down to find a three clawed fist jutting out of a ragged hole in his abdomen, holding his heart. He then screamed in agony as the vampire used his telekinetic power to rip him asunder.

The other priests paused at this sudden show of force. It was the last mistake several of them made. With a howling screech, all but one were consumed. His eyes were wide with terror as his comrades slumped to the floor, lifeless.

The final priest heard panting behind him. Shuddering, he slowly turned to find... nothing. Sighing in relief, he turned back around.

Right in time to be impaled through the stomach. He groaned slightly as he was lifted off the ground by the sword in his gut. As Kain pulled him in close, the priest heard him whisper two words.

"Vae Victus."


	2. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Visit

**A/N**

**So this idea came to me one day, after I learned about how many Legacy of Kain titles have been cancelled deep into production. So I took what I could find on The Dark Prophecy, and attempted to make a coherent story out of it.**

**I own only my own ideas.**

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><p>One year later.<p>

The Dancing Maiden was a quaint little inn in the town of Ustengrav. As far as inns go it was warm and cozy most nights. Many a weary traveller had rested comfortably here. But ther would be no easy resting tonight.

Anger. That was what a younger Kain felt. Anger towards all of his enemies. Anger at his fallen allies and kin. But mostly, anger directed towards HER, the one who betrayed him and died for the trouble.

Kain sat in an inn in Ustengrav, staring into the glowing depths of the fire place, stewing in his own rage. None dared approach him, lest they draw the ire of this stranger. He had been like this for several days now, and he had no intention of changing pace.

A knock on the table next to him disturbed his thoughts. _Well now, this is certainly a brave fool_, Kain thought. _Maybe if I ignore him, he will take note of his unwated presence and leave mine._

But he quickly realized that this one was not going to let him alone. Kain decided that rather than turn to face him, he would simply take a blind swing in the newcomer's direction. This might have worked, too, but for a small detail.

Kain's fist never met his target. Instead, a hand caught his attack, and stopped it dead in its tracks. Not just any hand. A cold, lifeless hand with claws.

Three claws.

Kain turned so quickly as to make a hurricane seem slow. He stared for a moment, then smiled slightly. "Vorador, it has been some time since you have found the time to speak with me."

Vorador simply glared at him, before responding, "Your hiding in human towns and villages hasn't made my life easy. Tell me, were you just going to steal my greatest creation, without even asking my consent?"

At this Kain bristled, stating, "The Reaver is not yours to give."

Vorador's scowl deepened as he retorted, "Nor yours to take."

Before Kain could argue further, Vorador raised a hand in silence. "I did not come to deate the validity of your outlandish claims. I came as the bearer of news."

Kain hesitated, before his curiosity got the better of him. "What kind of news?"

Vorador leaned in closer, and in a cospiring whisper, "The kind an enemy of the Hylden would like to know. You are being hunted."

Kain nonchalantly shrugged. "By whom? I killed the Hylden lord, and scattered his Sarafan order. Who could threaten me?"

Vorador simply scowled at the younger vampire's arrogance, and turned to leave. Before exitng the building, he stopped and said over his shoulder, "Don't underestimate your enemies, Kain. They are still powerful." And then, Voradorleft leaving Kain again the solitary vampire in the Dancing Maiden.

Kain silently returned to staring into his fire, anger again in his mind.

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><p><strong>AN I would appreciate any and all feedback on this. As it is my first published project, I look forward to Improving as time goes on. So tell me what needs to be done, and I will spin it into the Wheel of Fate.**

**This is Raz1el, signing off.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Seer's Message

**A/N So, once again, I am a new author, and I would love if you could point out anything I can improve on. I really do want to get better, so let me know if anything sticks out, and please, for the love of the Pillars, review.**

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><p>The next morning, Kain paid the innkeeper and left Ustengrav. Vorador's cryptic message weighed heavily on his mind, and Kain had never been one to solve riddles. If he couldn't subjugate a problem, he had a tendency to simply smash it beyond recognition.<p>

Still, he had a riddle and no solution. Rather that try to delve into his ancient sire's mind, he decided he would ask someone else's opinion on Vorador's implications.

That was why he was at her hideaway.

The Seer had previously helped him find the device as a favor. Now, Kain had nothing to bargain with. As much as he hated debt, he truly despised ignorance; and he need the question answered.

The Seer gazed at him intently, as if dissecting him with her eyes. "What could the great Kain possibly want here?" she asked mockingly. "Could some question be gnawing away at his mind?"

Kain was in no mood for games. "You know why I came, witch. I need to know, are the Hylden still a threat?"

The Seer narrowed her eyes briefly, before returning to her aloof demeanor. "A threat? Why wouldn't they be? You only shook their hold on Nosgoth; now they are reeling, trying desparately to regain lost ground."

Kain glared daggers and furrowed his brow. "That still doesn't answer my question. What possible plan could they have conceived to gain a foothold?"

The Seer sighed, and then came to her decision. "You have witnessed so much, yet understood so little. The Hylden had much power before their banishment. They will again work through puppets to establish themselves as a power in Nosgoth, but they will work more secretly. Once they have marshalled enough strength, they will again march on the world."

Kain's eyes widened in shock at the revelation. "How could they still have the resources? I killed their leader!"

The Seer chuckled slightly at that. "Leader? The Sarafan Lord was merely that: a lord."

Kain remembered his noble heritage well. "If he was a lord, then who is king?"

The Seer smiled. "I know not. but the answer you seek lies in wait at the Pillars, hiding in the shadow of their corrution. There you may find the aswers you seek."

Kain gazed suspiciously at her. "What would this information cost me?"

"For you, nothing. As I'm sure you had noticed, I am not a pure vampire. I am also of Hylden decent. As such, my betrayal runs deeper than any who had banished them."

Kain nodded in understanding. "You want me to keep those who would surely execute you out of this plane of existence."

The Seer did not answer, simply asking, "And shouldn't you be at the Pillars?"

Kain turned to leave her cotage, then paused at the door. He turned to thank her, but she had already left. Rather than stare in bewilderment, Kain took his leave, and dissolved into a swarm of bats.

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><p><strong>AN So there was that chapter. If it seems like I have been neglecting Kain's combat, fear not: next chapter, Kain is going to wail on some fools.**


	4. Chapter 3: Mystery at the Pillars

**A/N Sorry about the long wait, life caught up to me. Anyway, on to the story.**

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><p>Kain made his way down a winding mountain path. He could have flown there as a flock of bats, but he felt that he needed time to ponder the goings on in Nosgoth.<p>

So far, an old friend and mentor, and a more recent accomplice had given him cryptic messages, hinting at insidious happenings in the land. Some dark force, perhaps dark forces even, had made moves that could be considered a prelude to an invasion. Even worse, they seemed to be operating at the behest of the Hylden. Kain found that to be most concerning: that his foes were not as vanquished as he first thought, and may be attempting to pay him back for all the trouble caused.

That, at least, Kain could cope with.

Kain shook off his thoughts as he approached. He entered the large clearing, and gazed upon the ruined Pillars of Nosgoth. Even in the short time since they had fallen to ruin, the surrounding area had become black, lifeless; the are reeked of the stench of decay. Kain knew in his heart that they might never again be whole, and would likely not be fully restored if they did.

Kain stepped uo to the pillars, and gazed at them in turn. Mind, Dimesion, Conflict, and all the others, bofore resting on Balance. His pillar. The cracked husk of its former magnificence a testament to its final guardian's failure to purify the circle.

Kain flinched as he heard it. A strange, heavy clanking, and swish of compressin air.

Kain ducked, narrowly avoiding decapitation. He quickly rolled to his feet, Reaver in hand. He immediately was forced back again, the attacker already counter slashing at Kain's midsection.

Kain jumped back with the strength of a vampire, and landed a good ten feet away. He took the brief moment of respite to take stock of his enemy. The foe was a suit of animate armor, covered in glyphs, all of which glowed with the strange, manipulative energy that the Hylden are so fond of. Inside the hollow shell's frame was an aura of energy, as though some entity were willing its presence into the world, but incapable of corporeal form.

Kain charged back at the armor, hoping to off balance it with a flurry of swift strikes. The glyph bound suit expertly blocked and parried every strike. Kain switched tactics, bringing the Reaver down full force over his head, hoping the sheer force would end the skirmish. Rather than see if it could withstand the blow, the clanking anomaly simply moved itself out of the way, moving far faster than Kain had expected.

Kain realized his only chance then. He quickly repositioned himself near one of the ruined pillars, already knowing that his plan depended on the entity's confidence.

The Hylden puppet bit hard on the bait. The armor moved to strike him into the pillar. Kain, however, was nit there. He had rolled under the sideways slash, and before the offbalanced foe could recover, shove it into the pillar. Kain then finished it off by swinging the Reaver through its neck and embedding it into the pillar. The Hylden's control severed by the poerful and vengeful soul within, it fell to the ground, no more than a collection of ornate antiquated armor.

Kain sighed, content with the result. He left the Soul Reaver in the Pillar, content to rest briefly. Sitting down next to it, he propped himself next to the balance pillar.

"Where did you come from?" Kain wondered aloud.

Kain pondered that question, thinking on his riddles. The Hylden had made an attempt on his life, with little more than a glorified tin can. But something felt off, like a distant memory trying to communicate familiarity. Kain had the nagging sensation he had recogized his foe from elsewhere, but he couldn't place it.

Almost ready to give up, Kain stood to retrive his blade from the pillar. And froze as the realization hit him. Grinning sinisterly, he took his weapon of choice, returned it to its sheath, and left the armor at the foot of that Pillar.

The Pillar of Conflict.

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><p>Kain gazed upon the ruins of the once proud fortress, remembering. The stronghold had been the site of one of his most challenging battles, one that he hadn't even technically won.<p>

Since his last visit, Malek's Bastion had fallen into a state of minor disrepair, as though like its former master, it refused to age and die. Kain thought it ironic that the Hylden would use the only location he had been defeated by n enemy he would never be able to return the favor to. At the same time, he knew their deviousness knew no bounds; he would, after all, try to forget such a humiliating moment in his past, if only to protect his pride.

Kain cautiously approached the front gate, painfully aware of his enemies' new forms. They had seemingly modeled themselves after Malek's strengths, having no real form to attack and destroy. Fortunately, he had realized a major weakness: he now wielded the Soul Reaver, and would likely be capable of breaking the spells animating the armor.

Kain looked at the imposing front door to the ancient castle. He tried the door handle, only to find them locked. Kain grinned to himself, and as is Kain's wont, kicked the door straight off its hinges. His first glimpse inside told him all he needed to know.

The antiquated armor sets Malek had had on display were either mobile, or strangely absent. Of the dozens that should have lined the hall, only three stood watch. Those three all turned to face the vampire, as though shocked to see him knocking door to their fort in. Their surprise didn't last long.

They charged Kain in a rush, hoping to off balance him. However, their plan was hasty and obvious; Kain simply sidestepped all but on of their swings. The third he ran through with the Reaver, which loosed a spectral howl. The armor crumpled into a pile of parts, as Kain turned to his other opponents.

The remaining armors shared a quick glance. allowing Kain a brief opening. He swiftly charged forward with all of his unnatural speed and grace, lopping off both his enemies "heads" in one massive sweep. The armors stiffened briefly, before falling backwards and shattering, having lost all control.

Kain allowed himself a,"Vae Victus," before turning and entering the maze of the Bastion.


	5. Chapter 4: The Beast

Kain realized that he really should have paid more heed to the layout of the bastion on his first visit. But he was so damnably proud, that he felt learning his way around a building was beneath him. As such, he knew nothing about the structural layout, save the entrance, and Malek's chambers.

Furiously, Kain marched his way through the first first corridor he came across, not caring where it lead so much, just feeling the need to follow the winding path to something.

_Why in the Hell did the Hylden choose THIS to be their base_, Kain thought. Of course he knew the answer, why wouldn't they? It was isolated, had plenty of armor and weapons on hand, even was ideally placed to field an army for an invasion. And it was this obviousness that made Kain furious. It was so blatantly, laughably obvious that he should have seen it.

A cacophony of clanking broke Kain from his brooding. He still had semi-indestructible suits of possessed armor lying around. Suddenly more cautious, he crept along, until the corridor opened into a large cavernous chamber. It was constructed unlike anything Kain had seen before. The pillars supporting the ceiling were made of the strange glypgh energy the Hylden so loved. There were 7 pillars, spread out in an equidistant, circular patter, each a different color. And in the center of each one, Kain could make out a ritual of gathering setes of armor, and imbuing them with their conscious unlife.

But the most disturbing feature in the room was the center construct. Kain observed as the Hylden armor gathered more metal than was necessary for a single suit, and arranged the individual pieces under a large statue of a dragon. He observed with a horrid fascination as said dragon glowed in spiral patterns along its flared wings and body, and shot beams of pure white energy at the armor.

Kain winced at the intensity, but when his vision recovered, he saw that the armor was reshaped into a strange monstrosity. It was bipedal, with two knees per leg, and had enormous fanned wings on its back. Its joints glowed with a burning orange seen only in the most fiery pits imaginable, as if the entity itself was not merely angry, but enraged by all of the world. It was armored by jagged plated as dark as midnight, and half as welcoming. The being appeared, for all intents, a colossal amalgam of man and dragon, a terrifying, skeletal automaton of death. Kain saw that the claws on its arms were jagged razors, each hungry for flesh.

Kain shuddered at the thought of fighting that beast. While normally recklessly overconfident, he decided to err on the side of caution with this one.

Silently, Kain began to concoct a plan.

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><p>As an unnamed Hylden worker. 87 decided he had life alright. He was tasked with a pretty simple job: kill all who stood in defiance of the plan. Not a bad job, considering he no longer had to put up with some of the more dangerous drone tasks. And if 87 performed well enough, then maybe, just maybe, a naming ceremony was in the near future.<p>

A sudden impact and clatter broke 87 from these musings. Glancing down, there was a brief acknowledgement of a blade jutting out at would have been a fatal angle had there been any corporeal interaction. With all the dimming power available, 87 hurled the short sword that until recently hadn't seen any combat.

Right at Kere'Vel.

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><p>Kain watched in horror as the sword was hurled. Too late, he came to the conclusion it was not he who was its intended target. It was the massive artificial daemon.<p>

_Well, so much for careful planning_. Kain immediately sprang into action, hoping to catch the massive threat to his unlife and limb off guard.

There was no such luck to be had when it caught the Reaver in its twisted, ebon claw. Quickly trying to rectify the blunder, Kain took a jab at one of the gaps in the breast plate, disturbingly rib like. The Beast had other ideas.

Batting away the flamberge with the back end of a claw, the Beast pressed its newly made opening by continuing to rotate, striking the vampire with its wings. The result was Kain was knocked through a stone block, shattering it and his sword arm.

Deciding the battle was not going well enough to continue left handed, Kain attempted to pull out, but realized one thing he had forgotten to attend to.

The other Hylden.

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><p>Kere'Vel was feeling quite well. This arrogant fool of a vampire had just delivered the Soul Reaver, one of the few weapons capable of disrupting the flow of the Soul Stream. It also felt good to be the one who would finally avenge the Great Failure at the original Hylden gate. A good day to be alive.<p>

Something seemed off to him, though. A suspicion that there was a third party observing. Shoving that feeling down, he marched to the fallen enemy to finish his all to short battle. Only to find his left arm removed. Glancing at the stump only briefly, he returned to find the other arm had been removed. Snarling internally, he searched for the assailant.

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><p>Kain watched as a near invisible entity pulled apart this Beast, systematically rendering it to junk. As soon as the legs and wings came off, the new combatant revealed itself to the other Hylden.<p>

Kain observed carefully all there was to the newcomer. He obviously had the dark gifts, as he would mist through his foes, and quickly wrecking the hollow suits with a barehanded strength that could only be supernatural. Kain admired the skill and ferocity, if only grudgingly. Grunting, he reset his arm, and prepared to jump into the fray.

Under the combined assault, the Hylden lasted seconds. Kain was powerful, but this stranger was leagues better trained, and had an aura speaking of milennia of experience.

As the final foe's connection to the material plane was severed Kain decided he should probably acknowledge the stranger's intervention, if only to downplay how timely it was. But to his utter astonishment, the strange vampire had vanished. And for what could only be one of a select few moments Kain was dumbstruck.

How the** hell** had he gotten out of the chamber?

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><p><strong>AN I know, I know, this is long overdue, but hey, time has a funny way of getting away from us. And not "ha ha" funny, either. Anywho, please leave any feed back. I want only to improve my skills, and the first step is _you._ Aight, Raz1el out. Peace!**


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